Switch-operating mechanism.



' J. A. WALKER. .SWITCH OPERATING MEGHANISM. APPLICATION FILED APR.14,1910.

Patented 111211228, 1911.

2 SHEETS`SHEET l.

Inventor Attorneys J. A. WALKER.

SWITCH OPERATING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 14, 1910.

Patented Mar.28,191'1.

Attorneys una ,anar ernten.

SWITCH-OPERATING lVlECI-)IANISIVL Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911.

Application filed April 14, 1910. Serial No. 555,324.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that JAMES A. WALKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Switch-Operating Mechanism,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway switches and more particularly tomeans whereby a switch can be thrown by mechanism under control of thecar man upon a car approaching the switch.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide mechanism adapted tobe connected to and supported by the rai-ls at points adjacent theswitch tongues, said mechanism including a revoluble shaft carryingelements for positively shifting the tongues in either direction.

Another object is to provide yielding means for positively holding thetongues in either open or closed positions, said means being housedbeneath the rails and supported by them.

Another object is to provide improved means carried by a car foractuating the` switch mechanism, said means including a guide deviceadapted to contact with and travel upon the adjoining rail so as to bedirected into engagement with the mechanism located below and at theside of the tracks.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certainnovel details of construct-ion and combinations of parts hereinaftermore fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

ln said drawings :--Figure 1 is a side elevation of the completemechanism, a portion of the car structure being shown in section. Fig. 2is a section on line AB Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line C-D Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the switch and the mechanism combinedtherewith. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the switch and the adjoiningmechanism.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 and 2 designatethe fixed or stationary rails located at the switch and between whichare arranged the movable points or tongues 3. These tongues areconnected, as ordinarily, by means of a cross bar 4 so as to insure thesimultaneous movement of the ltwo tongues. A lever 5 is pivotallyconnected to the bar 4 and is fulcrumed as at 6 upon a cross bar 7 whichis secured in any suitable manner to the rails 1 and 2. This lever maybe connected in any suitable manner to a signal located at any desiredpoint relative to the switch so that, when the lever is swung about itsfulcrum, the signal will be operated to indicate the position of theswitch tongues.

Supporting plates 8 are bolted or otherwise secured to opposite faces ofthe web of each rail 1 and 2, these plates bearing on the base flangesof the rails and extending downwardly therefrom. The two pairs of platesare located directly opposite each other and adjacent the points of thetongues 3, these plates serving to support a shaft 9 which is ournaledwithin them and extends beyond the outer sides of the two rails 1 and 2.A star wheel 10, preferably provided with four radial arms is secured toeach end of the shaft 9 and the arms are of such length as to move ashort distance above the tread of the rail when the wheel is rotated.

A rectangular block 11 is secured to the shaft 9 between the plates S ofeach pair and the blocks are so located with relation to the star wheels10 that, when the upper and lower faces of the blocks are horizontal,the arms of the star wheels are all disposed at the same angle to avertical line extending through the center of each wheel. Cross pins 12connect the lower portions of the plates 8 of each pair and the ends ofa spring 13 are mounted on these pins and the said spring is adapted tobear yieldingly against the adjoining block 11 so as to always hold oneface of the block in a horizontal plane. A sleeve 14 is slidably mountedon the shaft 9 at a point between the rails 1 and 2. This sleeve has camshaped ends such as have been indicated at 15 and said ends coperatewith cam faces formed upon collars 16 secured to and rotating with theshaft 9. The various cam faces are so located that during each one-halfrotation of the shaft 9, the cams 16 will successively slide the sleeve14 to the left and to the right. ln other words the sleeve 14 is movedfour times during each complete rotation of the shaft 9. The pivot pin17 which vconnects the bar 4 with the lever 5, extends downwardly and issecured to the center portion of the sleeve 14. lt will be apparent,therefore, that the bar 4 and the tongues 3 will be moved with thesleeve 14.

The mechanism employed for actuating the star wheels, and which isadapted to be mounted upon a car, consists of a guide frame or bracket18 which may be connected to the car structure in any suitable mannerand has a bar 19 slidably mounted within it, there being a stem 20projecting upwardly from the bar and provided with a head 21. A spring22 is coiled about the stem and bears at its ends against the head 21and the bracket 18 and serves to hold the bar 19 normally elevatedVabove the track. An actuating finger 23 extends outwardly from the lowerend of the bar 19 and is adapted, when said bar is lowered, to moveagainst one of the arms of the star wheel in the path thereof. rlhedownward movement of the bar 19 is limited by a stop lug or projection2i projecting inwardly therefrom and adapted to come into contact withthe tread of the rail.

An actuating lever 25 is pivotally connected to the bracket 18 and bearsupon the head 21, the free end of the lever extending upwardly above theHoor of the car structure 2G and having a foot plate 27 thereon.

Should the signal which is connected to the switch, show that saidswitch is set in the `wrong position, the Car man upon the approachingcar, depresses the foot plate 27 and thus forces the bar 19 downwardlyuntil the stop 2e comes into contact with the tread of the railthereunder. As the car advances toward the switch the linger 23 movesagainst one of the arms of the wheel 10 in the path thereof and givessaid wheel a onequarter turn. The cams 16 which rotate with the shaft 9thus shift the sleeve 1-1 longitudinally so as to cause the tongues 3 tochange their positions. During this onequarter turn of the star wheeland its shaft, the blocks 11 are also given a one-quarter turn and thesprings 13 yield during the movement of the corner portions of theblocks thereover and operate to complete the onequarter turn of theshaft and to bring the tongues to their proper positions relative to therails 1 and 2.

It is to be understood that other means than those shown may be employedfor depressing the bar 19. For example, should the operating mechanismbe mounted upon a locomotive, the bar 19 may be attached to a bell cranklever and this in turn actuated by a rod extending to a lever locatedwithin the cab of the locomotive. Various other means may be employedfor operating the bar, all of which are so obvious that it is notnecessary to describe or illustrate them in detail.

Various changes can of course be made in the construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

Whatis claimed is 1. The combination with switch tongues, and aconnecting bar pivotally secured thereto, of a shaft mounted forrotation below the bar, means operated by cars passing over the switchfor intermittently rotating the shaft, a non-rotatable sleeve slidablymounted on the shaft, a direct connection between said sleeve and thebar, and means revoluble with theshaft and bearing against the ends ofthe sleeve, for shifting said sleeve longitudinally in oppositedirections successively.

2. The combination with switch tongues, and a connecting bar pivotallyattached thereto, of a shaft mounted for rotation under the bar, meansoperated by cars passing over the switch for intermittently rotating theshaft, a non-rotatable sleeve slidably mounted on the shaft, aprojection thereon engaging the bar, and opposed cam members secured toand revoluble with the shaft, said members bearing against rthe ends ofthe sleeve to shift said sleeve in opposite directions successivelyduring the rotation 'of the shaft. I

8. The combination Ywith a switch tongue,

and a connecting bar pivotally connected thereto, of a shaft mounted forrotation below the bar, a car wheel revoluble with the shaft, a sleeveslidably mounted on the shaft, a projection-on the sleeve and engagingthe bar, said projection and bar constituting means for holding thesleeve against rotation, and cams secured to the shafts at the ends ofthe sleeve, said cams cooperating to successively shift the sleeve inopposite directions during the rotation of the shaft. Y

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, l have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. WALKER lVitnesses E. lV. FoneY, DOUGLAS L. EDMOND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

